Culinary Adventures with Camilla

This month, for Food'N'Flix , Debra of  Eliot's Eats  is hosting. She asked us to watch  The Holiday * and you can read her invitation  here . We have already started with our holiday preparations. At the end of such a tumultuous year - being sheltered-in-place since March, missing every single celebration with friends and family since then including birthdays, anniversaries, R's high school graduation, and more, you get the drift - we needed a little Christmas spirit in our lives. The day after Thanksgiving, we drove up to the Santa Cruz mountains and cut down a tree. And I have had Christmas music streaming in the kitchen as I cook since then as well!  The Movie photo from amazon So, when I saw Debra's pick, I was excited to settle in for a holiday rom-com...alone. Everyone in my household looked at the movie and decided to vacate the living room and do something else. Anything else. Fine. Writer and director Nancy Meyers has also written It's Complicated (whi...

With his batch of Pink Hazelnut Marshmallow Fondant , D fashioned piggies for Stella's birthday cake. He made pigs, pig heads, pig bellies, and - most fun for a 10-year-old boy - pig behinds!

I have never worked with fondant before, but I needed to figure it out fast. Thankfully, my cousin Tiffany, AKA the Cake Whisperer!, told me how to make an easy marshmallow fondant. Thanks, Tiff! I don't have a microwave, so I adapted her recipe to the stovetop...and I also increased proportions because I didn't want to run out. We'll see how this works out tomorrow when I roll it. 6 C minature marshmallows - loosely poured, not tightly packed 6 C organic powdered sugar 3 T water Food coloring or flavored extracts, optional Place the marshmallows and the water in a large saucepan.  Cook, on low heat, until the marshmallows are puffy and expanded. Stir the marshmallows with a rubber spatula until they are melted and smooth. If you want colored or flavored fondant, you can add several drops of food coloring or extracts at this point and stir until incorporated. I added a few drops of color at this point. Add 4 C of the powdered sugar ...

When I saw the call for recipes from the editors of Bacon S'mores - "The recipe has to be for some variant on the idea 'bacon s'mores,'" they instructed- this is exactly what I was envisioning. Sweet, salty, smoky, and über-chocolatey! This has a bacon shortbread crust at its base, a fleur de sel caramel-softened marshmallow swirled layer, and a chocolate ganache topped with more oven-crisped bacon.  'Decadent' doesn't even begin to describe this tart. Bacon Shortbread 2 C white flour 1/2 C powdered sugar 3/4 C organic butter 3 T cold water 3 T vodka 1 C oven-crisped bacon , diced (1/2 C for the shortbread, 1/2 C reserved for garnish) Mix the flour and sugar; rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in water and vodka with a fork until the mixture forms a ball. Roll out between two pieces of parchment paper. Press gently into a tart pan. Stick in the freezer while the oven heats. Bake for 25-30 minute...

When the editors of Bacon S'mores put out a call for recipes to their writers, I took the challenge. Demi wrote: The recipe has to be for some variant on the idea "bacon s'mores." Okay. Here we go... BAM Brownies. BAM = Bacon + Aleppo pepper + Marshmallow This makes a 9"x13" pan full of chocolatey, gooey, deliciousness. Soft butter, for greasing the pan 6 large eggs 2 C organic granulated sugar 1 t ground Aleppo pepper 12 oz melted butter 2 C unsweetened cocoa 2 t pure vanilla extract 1 C white whole wheat flour 1/4 C organic, raw cacao nibs 4 T maple syrup marshmallows, unset - still in cream state 1/4 C  oven-crisped bacon, chopped Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Butter an 9"x13" baking pan. In a large mixing bowl add all ingredients, except flour, nibs, bacon, and marshmallows, and mix to combine. Add the flour and nibs; stir till just  moistened. Pour the batter into a greased and floured pan. Spoon dollops of...

With the advent of autumn comes a whole new set of foodie fun. Come September every year, apples abound, plump pumpkins are ripening on the vines, grapes are plucked in area vineyards, and – for my family – we always love hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows. This weekend I had poached some quince to slice on top of yogurt in the mornings and I decided to use that poaching liquid to make some quince marshmallows. Though these didn't retain the rosy hue of the poaching liquid, the scent was unmistakable and wonderful. And marshmallows are so easy to make; you can use any sugar, any syrup, any liquid. Just keep the proportions the same. The only thing I do recommend is a good candy thermometer. Then, it really is a cinch! butter powdered sugar 1 C poaching liquid from quince, divided 3, 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin 2 C organic raw sugar 1/3 C ginger syrup 1/3 C raw organic honey Prepare a 9×13 inch pan by oiling it with or butter. Dust powdered sugar ...

I originally made these for what turned out to be a disaster - Mess-omars for Food'N'Flix - then I realized that I could skewer them. Thanks for the inspiration, Matt Armendariz! I am right there with you: things on a stick just taste better. Besides, stabbing them helped me get out some aggression after my kitchen flop! butter powdered sugar 1 C cold water, divided 3, 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin 2 C organic raw sugar 2/3 C ginger syrup Prepare a 9×13 inch pan by oiling it with or butter. Dust powdered sugar over the oiled sides of the pan. Place 1/2 C of water in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water and allow to soften, 5 minutes. Place remaining water, sugar, syrups, and salt into a large saucepan. Melt all of the ingredients together, without stirring, and bring to a boil. Boil until the syrup reaches 240 F on a candy thermometer. With the mixer on low speed, slowly pour hot syrup down the side of the bowl, being sure to avoid the ...

Before I start this post, I want to say that I made a HUGE mess. It was a gigantic, sticky, tasty mess. I had good intentions and my components were all perfect. But, when I tried to put them all together...let's just say, 'ugly' would be a generous description. I originally titled this post 'Gingo-Mars' but after I made them, they became Mess-omars. Caroline from Caroline Makes  is hosting  Food'N'Flix  this month. And her pick -  When Harry Met Sally  - is one I've probably seen fifty times. No exaggeration. Maybe more. When I was in high school, my best friend, Jenn, and I would make apple pies on Friday evenings and watch it ad nauseum; we were real party-girls, can't you tell?!? Click  here  to see Caroline's invitation to her movie selection. Please, forgive the long, long, Dostoyevsky-long post. This is one of my favorite movies of all time! So, one night, I pulled out my DVD and Jake and I watched it again. I had a notepad and ...